NZL – Tall Blacks know draw has big implications

TALLINN (2010 FIBA World Championship) - New Zealand Tall Blacks coach Nenad Vucinic is crossing his fingers and hoping his Tall Blacks get some good news on Tuesday when the draw is held for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

New Zealand will play at the event in Turkey as Oceania champions.

"Very hard to say who our preferences would be," said Vucinic from Estonia, where he coaches professional basketball outfit BC Kalev/Cramo.

"From Europe, all teams are very, very strong. From the Americas, it would be great to avoid the top three - USA, Argentina and Brazil. From Africa, it would be great to avoid Angola, and from Asia, China.

"We will definitely have at least two teams from Europe in our section."

New Zealand made a surprising run to the Semi-Finals of the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis and played at the Olympics in Greece two years later before competing at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan.

They played at the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament but did not claim one of the three spots on offer for the Beijing Games.

Speaking to the New Zealand media, Vucinic added: "The draw is very important.

"A bad draw gives you minimal chances to get to the next round.

"We know that getting to the second stage of the tournament would be an amazing achievement but we like those achievements.

"It's hard to tell before the draw, but we always have a chance."

FIBA